Corus brings Cooking Channel to Canada; rebrands W Movies

Corus Entertainment, the leader in specialty entertainment with six of the top 10 specialty channels in Canada, announced today that it is introducing Cooking Channel, a 24-hour network that caters to avid food lovers, in Canada on December 12, 2016. From the creators of Food Network, Cooking Channel is the answer to a growing appetite for more content devoted to food and cooking in every dimension; from global cuisines to international travel, to food history and unconventional how-tos. A perfect pairing to Food Network Canada, Cooking Channel expands Corus’ dominance in the food and lifestyle genre and joins the company’s roster of lifestyle channels including: Food Network Canada, HGTV Canada, W Network, Slice, DIY Network and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network Canada.

The launch of Cooking Channel in Canada is an extension of Corus’ long-term partnership with Scripps Networks Interactive, leading developer of engaging lifestyle content whose media portfolio includes: Food Network, HGTV and DIY Network. Since Scripps Networks’ launch of Cooking Channel in the United States in 2010, ratings and impressions have grown exponentially for core demographics (A25-54 / W25-54), averaging gains of more than 50% to date while growing its distribution to US households by 20%. The network most recently wrapped Q3 2016 notching its highest-rated, most-watched quarter to date marking 15 consecutive quarters of quarter-to-quarter growth.

Cooking Channel in Canada is a rebrand of W Movies.

A few of the highly-anticipated series confirmed for launch include:

Man Fire Food
Man Fire Food stars Canadian chef Roger Mooking and features the inventive ways to cook with fire. From small campfires to creative custom-made grills and smokers, they visit home cooks, pitmasters and chefs who are fascinated by fire and food. The smoke signals take Roger Mooking across the country, including the American South for different styles of regional barbecue, the Pacific Northwest for a tribal salmon bake and New England for a unique seafood feast. Man Fire Food celebrates the passion for building and cooking with fire.

Dinner at Tiffani’s
Tiffani Thiessen invites her celebrity friends over for good company, great stories and delicious food. With guests like Jason Priestley, Seth Green, her White Collar co-stars and more, it’s a wonderful blend of dinner, drinks and fun. Come for the party, stay for the food.

Unwrapped 2.0
Unwrapped 2.0 is a fun and fascinating look at the amazing processes, great stories and interesting people behind the creation of some of the most popular snacks. Hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro, Unwrapped 2.0 features everything from classic childhood treats to the latest candy crazes. Whether you like your snacks sweet or savoury, crispy or gooey, Unwrapped 2.0 offers behind-the-scenes access to get you a front row seat to see them made.

Cake Hunters
The perfect party needs the perfect cake, and that’s where Cake Hunters comes in! From weddings to family reunions and more, party hosts meet with three cake designers who present their jaw-dropping concepts to make the perfect complement to their big bashes. And once the winning design is picked, will the cake make it to the big day on time and in one piece?

Unique Sweets
Unique Sweets is an insider’s peek into innovative eateries that are creating the most unique and exciting desserts today. These sweet spots cover the gamut: restaurants with revolutionary pastry chefs; candy shops inventing eye-popping confections; chocolate boutiques with wild artisanal flavours and bakeries producing one-of-a-kind pastries, cakes and cookies in the middle of the night. Wherever there are gooey, crunchy, sticky and sweet treats that you won’t find anywhere else, Unique Sweets will take you there.

Prior to becoming a television critic and owner of TV, Eh?, Greg David was a critic for TV Guide Canada, the country's most trusted source for TV news. He has interviewed television actors, actresses and behind-the-scenes folks from hundreds of television series from Canada, the U.S. and internationally. He is a podcaster, public speaker, weekly radio guest and educator, and past member of the Television Critics Association.

Hmmm. Is there a need for this channel? Aren’t we supposed to be getting less channels, not more? A few years ago I loved watching cooking shows on TV. However, that was back when I still actually channel-surfed. Now, the only live TV I watch is sports and news. Everything else is scripted dramas and some scripted comedies and none of that is live; it’s all via DVR or streaming. And I’m so behind on my tv-watching I will never ever get to the point where there is nothing to watch on TV (because my DVR is so packed) that I’ve abandoned any of those specialty cable channels that I used to go to in times of boredom.